Cybersecurity for NGOs: Session 1: Recognising and Avoiding Common Threats

NGOs and associations are increasingly targeted by cyberattacks. They hold personal data about donors, members and beneficiaries, but often have little IT support. This course gives employees, volunteers and board members of Luxembourg NGOs a practical understanding of the cybersecurity risks they face, and the everyday habits that reduce those risks the most.

The module runs as three one-hour sessions, back to back. Session 1 covers the most common threats, such as phishing and social engineering, and the simple habits that protect against them. Session 2 focuses on keeping the data NGOs hold safe: what counts as sensitive, how to store and share it securely, and what to do if it is lost or leaked. Session 3 builds a simple incident-response reflex through a short simulated incident, worked through in small groups. Each module combines short explanations with real-world examples and hands-on exercises.The course is intended for NGO staff, volunteers and board members. 

- What cybersecurity means for a small NGO, with everyday examples from real associations

- How phishing, smishing (fraudulent text messages), deepfakes and social engineering work, with real examples

- How public information, such as LinkedIn profiles, can be used to target an NGO

- Live phishing-recognition exercise on emails and websites

- Passwords and multi-factor authentication in practice: how to set them up and help less-technical colleagues adopt them

- Safer use of email, cloud storage, shared drives and messaging apps, and backups to recover from ransomware

- Quick self-assessment of the three main vulnerabilities (phishing and social engineering, weak passwords, unsafe sharing without backups) and first steps for each.

- recognise the most common cyberattacks aimed at NGOs, such as phishing, smishing and social engineering

- apply basic security habits (multi-factor authentication, password managers, checking links, secure sharing) in their daily work

Lecture

Real-world scenarios / examples

Practical exercises

Group work